Cambridge Cottage Wedding Photography

If you want a church wedding ceremony with the reception at Fulham Palace there’s plenty of churches in the surrounding areas of Fulham and Putney.

The closest is All Saints Church, Fulham, an historic Grade II listed building on the banks of the Thames and next to Fulham Palace itself. For great photographs after your ceremony I love the narrow tree-lined path from the main entrance through the church gardens, and then it’s a short scenic stroll along the River Thames embankment path to Fulham Palace, or you can slip straight into the Walled Garden through the back gate.

Staying this side of the Thames, about five minutes drive away you’ll find Holy Cross Church in Parson’s Green. Tucked away on the corner of a residential side-street, the simple brick exterior belies the beauty inside, with high white walls, rich wooden pews, tall clear church windows to let glorious daylight stream in (a wedding photographer’s favourite kind of light) and a stunning wooden-beamed arched ceiling overlooking your ceremony.

On the opposite side of Putney Bridge is St Mary’s Church, Putney. I’ve actually not yet had the pleasure of photographing a wedding ceremony here, so maybe you’ll be my first? But I lived in Putney for several years and can tell you the church has a slightly more modern feel inside than its more traditional sister across the Thames, with your ceremony taking place in a more ‘in-the-round’ setting. Fulham Palace is a gentle 15-20 minutes walk over Putney Bridge and along the Thames embankment walkway. Or just hop in a car and be there in five minutes.

Finally, a touch further away, but only 10-15 minutes by car, is All Saints Church, Putney on the boundary of Putney Common. One of only two churches in Putney (the other being St Mary’s), you’ll enjoy a traditional church wedding decorated with striking artistic stained glass windows on every aspect. Being set back from Lower Richmond Road across Putney Common it’s peaceful and has plenty of space for a couple of waiting private-hire London Buses to carry your guests over to Fulham Palace.

Fulham Palace is one of those very special venues that can accommodate a wedding at any time of year and make it feel special, so there’s not really any time of year to avoid having your Fulham Palace wedding.

That said, if you want to make the most of their beautiful outdoor settings like the courtyard, rear lawns, and walled garden, you’ll want to book a wedding date between spring and autumn. Weather in the UK varies wildly in spring but you usually can’t go too wrong with a date from May to September – sometimes it can be surprisingly cold and windy even in April!

I’m no meteorologist, but I do have a very handy app on my phone called Sunseeker, and that lets me work out exactly where the sun is going to be at any time of day, any day of the year. It’s incredibly useful for making sure you’re not drenched in strong overhead sunlight when we’re doing your group shots and couple portraits after the wedding ceremony.

For example, the main entrance in the courtyard looks great for group shots but on a sunny afternoon it never gets any shelter from the sun and It’s actually better to move into the shade on one side of the courtyard.

Alternatively, there’s a gorgeous wall round one side of the Palace covered in beautiful wisteria, but as it’s fully lit by the sun in mid-afternoon you’ll be squinting at the camera.

So in the summer don’t worry about where the sun will be for your portraits, I’ve got that covered for you.

In autumn or winter we may not have quite as much luck with the weather, and you’ll probably be indoors for most of the post-ceremony cocktail hour, and the reception that evening. But depending on your timings so long as it’s not snowing or blowing a gale it’s still possible to make some gorgeous portraits outside in natural light.